God of Grace and God of Glory, ELW 705
1 God of grace and God of glory,
on your people pour your pow’r;
crown your ancient church’s story;
bring its bud to glorious flow’r.
Grant us wisdom, grand us courage
for the facing of this hour,
for the facing of this hour.
2 Lo! The hosts of evil round us
scorn the Christ, assail his ways!
From the fears that long have bound us
free our hearts to faith and praise.
Grant us wisdom, grand us courage
for the living of these days,
for the living of these days.
3 Cure your children’s warring madness;
Bend our pride to your control;
Shame our wanton, selfish gladness,
Rich in things and poor in soul.
Grant us wisdom, grand us courage,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal,
lest we miss your kingdom’s goal.
4 Save us from weak resignation
to the evils we deplore;
let the gift of your salvation
be our glory evermore.
Grant us wisdom, grant us courage,
serving you whom we adore,
serving you whom we adore.
Devotion
In Jesus’ prayer for his disciples (John 17) he prayed not that the disciples, faced with hardship, would be taken out of this world. Rather, “I ask you to protect them from the evil one.”
Harry Emerson Fosdick (1878 – 1969), a Baptist preacher, carried that theme from the fourth Gospel into the turmoil of America in the early years of the 20th century in his hymn, “God of Grace and God of Glory."
John D. Rockefeller recognized the talents of Fosdick and sought to make him pastor of the upscale Park Avenue Baptist Church of which he was a member. He was not successful until he agreed to build a more modest church building closer to Harlem (Riverside Church). Pastor Fosdick wrote the text to this great hymn to be sung at the opening service.
“For the living of these days.” It is an appropriate prayer for “these days” in any era. We can always be tempted to surrender in the face of turmoil and conflict. For Fosdick, “these days” meant, among other things, the Great Depression as well as the argument between modernism and fundamentalism. We could pray the prayer as well as Fosdick: “Save us from weak resignation to the evils we deplore.” Thankfully, Jesus prays for us!
Prayer
Oh God, guard us, we pray, from the evils within ourselves as well as from that in the world that is pitted against you. Grant us wisdom! Grant us courage! Amen.